Inflatable article



July 4, 1933. -O KRlcHBAuM 1,916,483

I NFLATABLE ART ICLE Filed March 14, 1930 Illl IIHITI H 1 activities.

. Fig. 1, are particularly desirable for camping, and substantially all forms ofoutdoor The popularity of inflatable mat tresses is largely due to their adaptability for storage in a comparatively small space,

resulting in ready portability. Hence, as by nature,the mattress is intended to be carried about, it is very desirableto give the-same utility as a weathcrprotective garment, as the same will be available whenever desired. Also, the envelope may be partially inflated, so as to insulate the body, or'maybe filled with hot water for added warmth. Further more, when filled with cold water, it may serve as a canteen for drinking-water. Referring now to Fig. 2, it will be noted th atthe bulges13 and'grooves 1 1 in the upper wall 11 are respectiveiy staggered'with respect'to those of the lower wall 12. This is brought about by the manner of attachment of elongated internal strips or webs 19 which are secured at their side edges to the upper and lower walls 11 and 12 respectively. The upper line'of attachment of each webis ofset laterally f'rom its lower lineof attachment, thereby giving the webs inclined positions. The upper and lower walls being secured together along their margins, it will be apparent that any tendency for the webs 19 to assume a vertical position when the envelope is inflated .will be successfully .combated, the

margin oints at the ends of the cushion being particularly, effective to produce this result.

This diagonal or inclined disposition .of i the internal webs 1 9 produce's staggered grooves 145 in the upper and lower 'wal ls when the en vvelope lsinflated. v The arrangement described 7 is of part cular importance, as it prevents the undesirable tendencyto rolling hereinbefo-re referred to. It alsoavolds' a column eifect of thewebs, which would otherwise cause hard ridges when compressed inuse. k Furthermore, this arrangement contributes'to the distribution of stresses which permits the low pressureinflation without localized bulging.

The webs19 do not extendthefull length of the. envelope, but terminate'ishort of the ends thereof, as shown 1n Fig. 5,, thus leaving .aflpassage' aro ind the end ofdeach 'web and permltting lntercoinmunication between the compartments 20 formed by'the bulges 13 and the webs 19; should be noted that one side of. onemargin'ofleachof'the webs 19 is secured, as at 21, to the respect ve rldges :14

of the lower wall12, and thatj'the opposite side of the opposite margin of each of the Webs19 is secured, as at '22, to the opposite suitors ridge 14L- of the upper. wall 11.

vi liile the compartments 20 are connected asshownnr'Fig. 5', undesirablebulging of the envelop'e10is nevertheless prevented by, the

webs19, inasmuch as the tendency to bulgeis "taken by the strength of the web. '.The

stresses areydistributed overfthe cumulative areas oftheseveral str ps, and thusany local:

ized bulging is avoided, and at the same time 7 A sheet'of impervious, such as rubber orrubberized fabric, butlw hich may be cloth, composition, or

other treated fabric, is spread over a suitable flexible material 11', preferably. V

supporting surface, and a separator sheet 23 I is spread thereover. The sheet 23 is preferably paper or similar material, and is provided with lines of apertures 24, so thatthe separator 23 is in the nature of a stencil sheet. Preferably liquid "adhesive material "or rubher cement; is spread over'the sheet 23 in the region ofv the apertures 2 1, so that the adhesive material will cover the areas of the sheet 11 exposed by the apertures, but the adwill be'later explained.

V Strips19 of flexible material such as cloth, composition, rubber, or rubberized or other treatedfabric are then applied over the sheet I 23 and spaced so that the respective margins 26 of'the strips 19 overlie thelines of apertures 24. Thus the material of the strips 19 'hesive may be omitte'din some'instances, as

contacts with the material 'of the sheets'll through the line of apertures24, and is secured thereto by the adhesive material when 7 the same is'employed;

the structure 'shown'in Figj 3, and is pro- A'se'cond separator sheet 27'is applied over 1 vi'd e d with lines of; apertures 28, which. are

dispose-d so as to overliethe opposite margins 29'of the respective'st'rips 19. Adhesive material is preferably. again applied in 'the I" manner already described, "and a sheet 12,.

similar to the'sheet- 11, is [appliedover the sheet 27. It will be readily apparent that the sheets 11 and 12 are respectively secured "to the opposite margins of the strips 19,

through the apertures of the respective separator sheets 23 and 27.

"To form an envelope such as illustrated in Fig.1, the'separator sheets 23 and 27 are of equal area, which is slightly smaller than the area ofjthe sheets 11 and 12. The sheets 7 23 and 27 are therefore centered with respect .to the other sheets, thus leaving contacting margins ofthe sheetsll and 12, which wil adhere to form the margin-'15. .1 It should'also be noted hat. theline of apertures 24in the sheet 23 is spaced from themargin thereof andjfrom-the sheet 11,a

proved operation of the cushion, but the'same 7 distance greater thanthe-spacingof the line i of apertures 28 from thecorrespondingmarof the separator sheet 27., This spacing is, of course, necessary in order to provide the does not offer any difliculty in themanufa'cture, inasmuch .as the sheets 23 and 27 may be identical, and manufactured in great quan tities, it being only necessary to reverse'the' sheet 27 with respect to the sheet 23 and' the" desired spacing will be thereby taken care of.

In lieu of the rubber cement: above dej-j scribed, the desired securing may be arrived at by merely vulcanizing the device as-' sembled as shown in Fig. 4, when rubber or rubberized fabric is used for the 1 sheets 11' and 12. The surfaces contacting through the I apertures in the separator sheetswill adhere surfaces exposed thereby. Various grades of paper used to construct the separator sheets 23 and 27 .will,of. course,

act 'diflerently, depending-upon which grade is employed and also depending upon whether or not a vvulcanizing step is employed, Furthermore, it is within thepurview of the invention toemploy a material analogous to paper, but which will disintegrate and substantially disappear in the vulcanizing process.-- It is, therefore, obvious that variation in resultwill be provided by the character of material employed in the construction of the separator sheets.

However, with several types of paper, the

samewill merely adhere to the inner wall'of the sheets 11 and 12, being vulcanized to such inner walls and substantially embedded therein, thus forming a paper lining for the compartments 20.

Referring again to Figure 3, the separator" sheets 28 and 27 may be of two ply paper, f

or such paper as will split into two sheets when the surfaces thereof respectively adhere to the walls of the envelope,- and the same is expand-ed. This arrangement will result in a complete paper lining for themternal wall of each of. the compartments 20;

The same result may be accomplished Y I claim is:

"using 't'wof identical apertured separator sheets at'23andtwo more at 27, or by pro- .-viding;an individual apertured separator sheet'foreach side of each strip 19. This maybe done by cementing a largesuitably apertu'red separator sheetto each side of a flexible'sheet, and cutting up the same into thereof as described,

Aside from the separating or stenciling use during themanufacture, this paper linstrips to form the strips '19 before'assembly A 'Iingwill be of-protective utility for'the com 1 v I pleted-cushion in use, Asjthe envelopemay paper lining will prevent such heat from causing the walls to stick together.

be exposed tosome heat where,co llapsed,'the

BOQ a While the preferred embodiment of the'in- I vention' vhas been illustrated and described "in such detail as to enable any'one' skilled in the art to practice the in'vention,never-- theless the scope of the invention is not to be limited to any of the details disclosed, but

instead includes such embodiments, of the broad idea as fall within the scope of the appended claim, it being obvious that various modifications and changes maybe resorted to without departing from the spirit of the inven tio-n; Havlng An inflatable envelope comprisingupper and lower walls of flexible air-tight sheet material directly connected together at their edges, anda series of websconnecting said walls arranged in substantially parallel plan-es inclined transversely to their length a when the envelope isinflated, saidv envelope when deflated having 7 substantially parallel walls lying close together and said webs lyr ing between said walls in substantially par- -allel arrangement therewith,said envelope having fastening means positioned along one s'ide'thereof adjacent the corners, of which the deflated envelope may be used as a cape with two cornersfastened together across the chest of the wearer. In testimony whereof, Ihereunto afiix' my signature; a

Y 7 ORAIKRIOHBAUM thus described myinvention what i by means V 

